PORTLAND Ore. Chili's Grill & Bar parent Brinker International Inc. is offering assistance to workers of six franchised restaurants in Oregon and Washington that abruptly shut down earlier this week.
The manner of the closings was not consistent with Brinker’s policies and procedures, said spokeswoman Maureen Locus.
Quality Restaurants Northwest Inc., a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based franchisee, operated six Chili’s units in the two states. On Monday and Tuesday, employees of its stores in the Portland area and in Bellevue and Issaquah, Wash., showed up for work only to find themselves locked out of the restaurants.
Members of Chili’s human resources department and operations management are in the area to help employees find jobs, Locus said. Brinker also is in the process of purchasing the Chili’s units in Eugene and Clackamas, Ore., from Quality Restaurants.
Brinker, based in Dallas, operates or franchises more than 1,800 restaurants under the Chili’s, Maggiano’s Little Italy, On the Border Mexican Grill and Romano’s Macaroni Grill brands. The company has two company-owned Chili’s restaurants in Oregon and a Maggiano’s in Washington.
Quality Restaurants is owned by Richard Paul Beattie Jr., who from 2002 to 2005 was president of Huntington Group Restaurants, which was once the largest Denny’s franchisee. In February, the Florida Department of Revenue charged Beattie with 18 counts of theft of state sales tax and one count of aggravated white-collar crime. State officials allege that as president of Huntington and his subsidiary, Golden Management Inc., Beattie had stolen $2.5 million in tax money.
Brinker has set up a toll-free phone number for displaced employees. Workers can call (800) 334-4783 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. CST, Monday through Friday.